In its first year, the Northern Powergrid Foundation has provided £860,000 in grant funding to support community projects addressing energy challenges in the North East and Yorkshire.

 

Set up in 2022, the Foundation is the charitable arm of Northern Powergrid, the electricity network operator for the North East, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire. The goal of the charitable trust is to support innovative organisations and community projects addressing energy-related challenges including fuel poverty, energy resilience and the net zero transition. 

 

Over the course of its first year, the Northern Powergrid Foundation has supported 60 organisations and community projects working to overcome these energy-related challenges – helping communities take action. These include a wide range of initiatives, from funding programmes producing free energy efficiency measures to fuel poor households, to installing solar panels and battery storage at community hubs to improve resilience.

 

With severe weather, the cost-of-living crisis increasing the number of households in fuel poverty, and the net zero transition transforming the energy system, communities are adapting to a changing energy landscape. The Foundation has worked with community innovators to empower local action, scaling up existing schemes to expand their impact, and providing financial support and energy expertise in the face of a changing climate.

  

Joe Docherty, Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Northern Powergrid Foundation celebrated the work of grantee organisations across the North East and Yorkshire:

 

“This has been a really exciting first year for the Northern Powergrid Foundation and we have been proud to support such innovative and impactful energy projects at the heart of our communities.

 

"Energy is central to people’s day-to-day lives. With so many challenges facing communities across our diverse region, we are committed to scaling up our support this year. We are excited to look forward and see how we can help empower communities to become more resilient, support with their net zero transition, and scale up innovative solutions to fuel poverty."

 

One organisation that secured funding was the Dipton Jubilee Centre, a community hub which installed solar panels and storage batteries at a site in Dipton, County Durham. The solar and battery storage enables the community organisation to play its role in future energy systems, with clean and efficient power generation keeping its bills low.

 

The storage batteries also allow the Dipton Jubilee Centre to operate as a warm hub during times of emergency to increase resilience of the area and support local residents.

 

Commenting on how the Northern Powergrid Foundation funding supports communities, Graham Sinclair who is a Trustee at Dipton Community Association said:

 

“During previous power outages we couldn’t open the centre, leaving many residents with nowhere to go. The Northern Powergrid Foundation funding has allowed us to put in a solar system and battery back-up, creating resilience for our energy supply, and allowing us to become more self-sufficient.”

 

“With an increasingly changeable climate, it gives us peace of mind that we can now open the centre and be a hub for our community and for emergency services.”

 

Grant funding has also supported the installation of storage batteries for Stocksfield Community Association in Northumberland. Following a successful application to the Foundation, the group was able to install the batteries at the community centre to work alongside existing solar panels to provide resilience to their local community and improve the centre's efficiency.

 

Commenting on the importance of the Northern Powergrid Foundation funding, Barbara Brayshaw, Stocksfield Community Association Chair of Trustees said:

 

“The funds from the Foundation have allowed us to improve energy efficiency, decrease gas consumption and will reduce our energy bills by utilising the energy stored in the batteries to support the evening activities when the centre is predominantly used. If our power is ever disrupted, our batteries could keep the centre open for some time, enabling us to support our local community”.

 

One example of an initiative tackling fuel poverty from 2023 is Upper Don Community Energy. The project in Stocksbridge brings together volunteers who create energy efficiency devices such as draft excluders and heavy curtains which are then provided free of charge to fuel poor households within their community.

 

Commenting on the Northern Powergrid Foundation, Catherine Cotterill, Upper Don Director said:

 

 "Our project is providing home visits for fuel poor households to identify where heat loss is occurring and advising how to make their properties more energy efficient. Using materials funded by the Northern Powergrid Foundation we then provide free items such as draft excluders and heavy curtains to help tackle this challenge, which has been made worse in the cost-of-living crisis.

 

“We’re grateful for the support the Northern Powergrid Foundation has given us to provide this scheme, which is delivering huge impact in our community.”

 

Following the success of grant support throughout 2023, Northern Powergrid Foundation will look to support further projects across its three funding priorities - community resilience, fuel poverty innovation, and net zero networks.

 

Projects could include funding equipment that enables a community hub to become more energy resilient, scaling the impact of community innovators tackling fuel poverty, or funding the development of networks to support local action on net zero and the transition to clean energy systems.

 

The Foundation encourages organisations who are addressing these specific issues across the North East, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire to visit its website to learn more about eligibility and grants, with the next funding window opening on 2 April 2024.

 

Visit northernpowergridfoundation.com for more information.

 

See a video of how communities have been supported here.